All KLM Dreamliners have been fitted with Premium Comfort Class since last winter, giving travelers extra legroom, enhanced comfort, and a dedicated catering concept.

With the arrival of this final aircraft, KLM now has a modern and efficient Dreamliner fleet to serve passengers for decades to come.

_{Photos: Jason Vermeulen}

New engine option
The “neo” stands for new engine option: the aircraft are equipped with new engines that emit less CO2 than their predecessors. Measured per passenger tonne kilometre, the A321neo is around 21% more fuel efficient than the Boeing 737 aircraft it replaces. Additionally, the aircraft reduces noise impact – essentially halving its noise footprint – causing far less disturbance to residents.

More comfort and convenience
Passengers on the A321neo experience more comfort thanks to wider seats, larger tables and more spacious luggage bins. Each seat is equipped with a USB-C port and a holder for a mobile or tablet. The aircraft also offers more convenience for the crew, including a wider aisle and easy-to-open luggage bins. The interior has been designed to enhance the KLM experience, with more recognisable details and mood lighting that adapts to each stage of the journey.

Butterfly names
The A321neo will start operating services to Copenhagen, Berlin and Stockholm from mid-September, followed by Paris, Prague and Vienna. KLM will be taking up three more new A321neo aircraft in its fleet this year. With this new aircraft series, KLM continues its tradition of giving aircraft unique names. Different themes have featured over the past 104 years, from names of members of the Royal Family to bridges, aviation pioneers and national parks. CEO Marjan Rintel: “This time, KLM employees were allowed to choose the theme. ‘Butterflies’ emerged as the winning theme, which ties in nicely with the transformation we’re embarking on with the new fleet. The names of the first four A321neo aircraft will be Swallowtail (Koninginnepage), Peach Blossom (Braamvlinder), Common Brimstone (Citroenvlinder) and Clouded Magpie (Porseleinvlinder).”

Fleet renewal
KLM will be investing seven billion euros in its fleet renewal programme over the next few years, which accounts for a substantial share of its total investment portfolio. On European routes, KLM will be replacing its older Boeing 737s with Airbus A320neo and A321neo aircraft. At KLM Cityhopper, new E2 models will join the Embraer 175 and 190 aircraft. For intercontinental flights, KLM will be adding five new Boeing 787-10s, followed by the Airbus A350 replacing the older 777s and A330s. Finally, KLM has ordered four A350Fs for its cargo division to replace the 747 freighters.

As a first major target milestone, the companies aim to conduct an initial A-to-B flight demonstration between two airport locations in 2026. As well as identifying the optimal airport pair, immediate workstreams will be working towards regulatory permits to fly and ensuring supply of liquid hydrogen fuel and putting in place the supporting infrastructure for aircraft fueling. 

With this collaboration, KLM and ZeroAvia are providing the evidence-base for adoption of cleaner flight on KLM’s network. Furthermore, the demonstration project will accelerate the development of concepts of operations for hydrogen aircraft across the EU.  

KLM aims to be a more sustainable airline. Supporting advanced technologies such as hydrogen and electric aviation is one of three pillars to help the aviation sector decarbonise. The maintenance divisions of KLM and Air France have already been working with ZeroAvia to build the knowledgebase for effective MRO operations for hydrogen fuel cell planes. 

ZeroAvia has already extensively tested a prototype of its first ZA600-engine aboard a Dornier 228 aircraft at its UK base. The company has also performed advanced ground tests in the US and UK for the key building block technologies for the ZA2000 system, including cryogenic tanks or LH2 and proprietary high-temperature PEM fuel cell and electric propulsion systems. ZA2000 will support up to 80 seat regional turboprop aircraft such as the ATR72 or the Dash 8 400. 

^[1] Clean Sky and McKinsey – Hydrogen Aviation: A fact-based study of hydrogen technology, economics, and climate impact by 2050 https://cleansky.paddlecms.net/sites/default/files/2021-10/20200507_Hydrogen-Powered-Aviation-report.pdf

More comfort
Passengers will experience a greater level of comfort thanks to the A321neo’s wider seats, larger tray tables and spacious luggage bins. Each seat is equipped with a tablet holder and a USB port, and there is multi-coloured "mood lighting" that adjusts at every stage of the flight. Crew members will also have more room for manoeuvre thanks to the wider aisle and easy-to-reach overhead bins. The A321neo interior was meticulously designed to enhance the KLM experience, with additional blue detailing and special lighting at the entrance to ensure a warm welcome.

Cleaner, quieter, more fuel-efficient
Preparations for the introduction of the new aircraft are in full swing. KLM will debut Airbus321neo operations in August.

From late 2023, these new A320neo/A321neo aircraft will begin replacing KLM and Transavia’s existing Boeing 737 NG aircraft on European routes. Having previously opted for the Embraer 195-E2 aircraft for intra-European flights, this new order is an important step in enhancing sustainability, customer experience, comfort and efficiency.

These new aircraft will substantially improve the sustainability of KLM’s fleet. The Airbus A320neo family not only produces 50% less noise than the current, older generation of aircraft, but also reduces fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions to 15%.

This improvement in sustainability, combined with the use of sustainable aviation fuel and improving operational innovation and efficiency, will contribute significantly to achieving the climate objectives laid down in the Paris Agreement. Lower fuel consumption will reduce costs, creating more room for investment in operations for a stronger future. In addition to initiatives such as “Fly Responsibly”, KLM recently aligned its objectives for reducing CO₂ emissions with the UN Climate Agreement signed in Paris.

Further details on the definitive choice of engine as well as cabin configuration and equipment will be decided and announced in due course.

Do you want to know more about the pick-up of a new Embraer? Take a look at our vlogs about the test flights and the ferry flight back to the Netherlands.

KLM invests in fleet renewal
Once again in 2018, KLM will continue to invest in the renewal of its fleet to meet its customers’ needs and wishes. The Orchidee is the second Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner to arrive in 2018. KLM will take possession of its next Dreamliner in August.

The Boeing 787 creates less ambient noise, consumes less fuel, and gives off fewer carbon dioxide emissions. It brings us ever closer to our aim to reduce CO₂ emissions by 20% in 2020 compared to 2011. The Dreamliner is built mainly of carbon fibre composite which can be cut easily, so the manufacturing process creates less waste.

It also offers numerous advantages in terms of passenger comfort. The increased cabin air pressure helps passengers to arrive at their destination feeling well rested. And all passengers have access to WiFi during the flight.

The Embraer aircraft also perfectly coincide with KLM’s sustainability policy. Owing to their advanced features, the Embraer jets burn less fuel, which means they emit less CO₂. The fuel consumption of the new E175+ aircraft is an impressive 22% lower than that of the Fokker 70s they replaced.

Europe’s largest Embraer fleet
KLM Cityhopper has the largest Embraer fleet in Europe. Since KLC phased out its last Fokker aircraft, its fleet has consisted entirely of Embraers. KLM currently uses its “E-jets” to operate around 300 short-haul flights a day, mostly to European business destinations. The E190 has 100 seats, while the E175+ has 88 seats.

With the three new arrivals, the fleet will consist of a total of 48 aircraft. In April 2018, KLC will take delivery of the 49^th Embraer, which is the last of the current order.

This news video shows footage of the arrival and various features on board. KLM President & CEO Pieter Elbers gives a short rundown of the fleet renewal programme, including the arrival of KLM’s first Boeing 787-9 in October.

(*) for subtitles use the feature in YouTube.

Air France-KLM-Martinair Cargo has decided on a business model which requires less freighter capacity, rather than a model with no freighters at all. Consequently, as an operating carrier within the KLM Group, Martinair Cargo will scale back its fleet and use just one type of aircraft (Boeing 747). This decision affects around 170 ground staff FTEs in the Netherlands, 50 FTEs abroad and 110 cockpit FTEs.

The company will do its utmost to reassign ground staff within the KLM Group using existing instruments, the scope of which may be extended to include voluntary redundancy. This will take place in close consultation with the unions and will only apply to employees working in areas where a staff surplus arises.

A number of voluntary measures have recently been rolled out for pilots at Martinair Cargo. Reassignment options within the group have been explored over the last few months and a number of pilots have taken the step to join Transavia. Recent changes in the financial conditions mean KLM is unable to offer pilots the same salaries they were receiving at Martinair. With KLM’s help, Martinair will continue to make every effort to find solutions for the pilots outside the KLM group. Negotiations between Martinair Cargo and the unions are ongoing and are based on the existing collective labour agreement (CLA). However, the possibility of compulsory redundancies cannot be excluded. Air France-KLM-Martinair Cargo deeply regrets the social consequences of these changes, but the reduction is unavoidable if the cargo business is to be restored to good health.

From 2016, Air France-KLM-Martinair Cargo will continue to operate with a mainframe fleet of six Full Freighters (two Boeing 777Fs at Paris Charles De Gaulle and four Boeing 747-400s at Amsterdam Schiphol), supplemented by 15 Boeing 747 Combi’s. Air France-KLM-Martinair Cargo is convinced that the remaining flexible freighters will continue to provide its clients with a full range of solutions to meet their needs. The freighter network at Schiphol will concentrate on Africa and North, Central and South America and will, of course, continue to serve important markets, such as the flower sector. The company will also continue to invest in Cargo (Express, Pharma, e-commerce).

Cargo remains a core business for the Air France-KLM Group. It generates income of EUR 2.5 billion per year and contributes around EUR 1 billion a year to the passenger network. It goes without saying that pulling out of the cargo business is out of the question.